Of this family, Elzeaphus Thomas should receive our first consideration. He was long a well-known citizen of Morton, Clinton township, and his death occurred September 22, 1889, when eighty-two years, ten months and seventeen days old. Elzeaphus Thomas was the son of Joel and Mary (Stiles) Thomas, the former of Bath county, Kentucky. Joel Thomas brought the family to Putnam county, Indiana, about 1825 and entered land in Clinton township, one mile north of Morton, and there spent the remainder of his life, dying at an advanced age. William Thomas, father of Joel, came here about 1828 and settled near Pisgah church, but soon moved to the Thomas farm north of Greencastle, on the place where H. T. Thomas was born. His wife, Fanny Butcher, married in Kentucky, she lived to be about seventy years old. William's sons besides Joel were Isaac, William, George and Lewis. Isaac was a soldier in the Union army, he lived in Madison township until his death; William spent many years in Parke county, where he died: George also lives in Parke county, and Lewis married there. Isaac and Joel are the only living ones in Putnam county. The elder Joel Thomas' children, besides William were John and James, who served in the Union army. Elzeaphus Thomas married Ruth A. Ralston, who died January 22, 1876, when sixty-six years, five months and twenty-one days old. Mr. Thomas settled on the farm at the Morton Corners and in the fifties built the house that still stands there, Rudy Burkett having recently built on the site of the original house. Mr. Thomas began life with but little, but prospering, he added to his place until he became one of the well-to-do and influential men of this and adjoining counties, owning at one time nineteen hundred acres of valuable land, mostly near the home place, so that he could ride horseback over his broad acres and give it his personal attention. He loaned money and traded in stock extensively, keeping all within range. He paid as high as fifty and sixty dollars per acre for that which at first cost only four or fire dollars per acre. He hauled wheat to Lafayette and sold it for thirty-seven and one-half cents per bushel. He was a keen observer, a good manager and was very successful in business. Although often importuned to do so, he would never hold office, being a Democrat, but no politician. His family consisted of eleven children, named as follows: John H. spent his life in this county, dying at the age of seventy-three years in 1903; Elizabeth is the widow of George Frank at Morton; Margaret is the widow of George Cooper and is living in Clinton township; Marthy Patsy married Richard Lloyd, lived in this county and died when past sixty years of age; Amanda Ellen, wife of Harry Randel, employed in the bank of J. L. Randel at Greencastle; James S. lives in Clinton township; Joseph Andrew, of this review; Rosanna married Ed. Perkins of Greencastle; Sarah Frances is the wife of James Cross, of Lebanon, Indiana; Milton E. died at the age of forty-seven years, in this county; Mary Augustus married Rudy H. Burkett, of Greencastle.
Joseph Andrew Thomas, whose name initiates this sketch, was born April 10, 1843, at Morton, Putnam county, on a farm where he spent his boyhood days until the breaking out of the Civil war when he showed his love of country by enlisting in 1861 in Company B, Forty-third Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, serving with much credit through all the vicissitudes of his regiment for three and one-half years. He was captured by the enemy at Marks Mills, while with Steele, while on detail for supplies, and he was later sent to Camp Ford, Tyler, Texas, placed in the stockade there and retained eleven months or until exchanged in March, 1865. He was compelled to march three hundred miles on short rations in reaching Tyler. He relates that his Christmas dinner that year consisted of ox tail soup. When finally liberated he was much reduced in flesh, but he never regretted his service to his country.
He remained with his father until his marriage in 1867 to Nancy C. Burkett, who was twenty years old at that time, the daughter of Benton C. and Rebecca (Nutgrass) Burkett, a sketch of whom appears elsewhere in this work. She was born in Russell township, this county, and she was always always known by the soubriquet of "Nan."
After his marriage Mr. Thomas settled in Clinton township, near where his brother James lives and there he remained for fourteen years, getting a good start, then bought his present excellent place at Morton, and he bought a farm in Russell township which he operated very successfully. He received one hundred and forty-two acres of his father's farm and he has owned over five hundred acres in all at one time, most of which has been given to his sons. He has been an excellent manager and is regarded as one of the leading agriculturists of this township.
To Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Thomas three children were born, one of whom died when nineteen years old, named Zoe; Alva V. owns one hundred and sixty acres near Brick Chapel, Monroe township; he married Gertrude O'Hair and they have two children, Russell and Orville. Ottis M. has remained single and he operates the home farm. Joseph A. Thomas is a good Democrat but no politician, and he is known to be a man who is deeply interested in the welfare of his neighbors, with whom he is uniformly popular because of his honesty.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
JOHN W. O'DANIEL.
The history of the loyal sons and representative citizens of Putnam county would not be complete should the name that heads this review be omitted. When the fierce fire of rebellion was raging throughout the Southland, threatening to destroy the Union, he responded with patriotic fervor to the call for volunteers and in some of the bloodiest battles for which that great war was noted proved his loyalty to the government he loved so well.
The subject is descended from sturdy Scotch ancestry, where the name was formerly spelled "O'Donnell." The paternal grandfather, William O'Daniel, was a native of Scotland, while his mother was a native of Germany. William O'Daniel, Sr., emigrated to the United States and among his children was a son, also named William, father of the subject of this sketch. William O'Daniel, Jr., who was born after the family came to America, became a shipbuilder in New Jersey, removing later to Pennsylvania, and eventually locating near Columbus, Ohio, where he followed the coopering business. In the fall of 1852 the family came to Owen county, Indiana, locating near Cataract, where the father had a contract to do the coopering for the mill there. In 1854 the family removed to Cloverdale and in August of the year following, the father died. His widow lived to be eighty-four years old, her death, on May 24, 1909, having been caused by blood poison. Up to her last illness she had enjoyed remarkably good health. William O'Daniel, Jr., was twice married. By the first union were born Elijah, George, Washington, Eliza, Maria, Priscilla, Rachael, Sally Ann and William R. The children by the second marriage, which was to Emily Holdren, were George W., John W., Louis R., Thomas J. and Uriah V. George W. was a member of the Fifteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry during the Civil war and died at Nashville, Tennessee. Louis R. died at Cloverdale in young manhood. Thomas J. resides at Cloverdale and Uriah V. at Greencastle. All the children were born in Ohio excepting the last named.
John W. O'Daniel was born June 21, 1845, at the old home on the National road just east of Columbus, Ohio. In 1832 he came with his parents to Cataract, Owen county, Indiana. He spent two years, 1857-58, in Illinois. In August, 1861, Mr. O'Daniel enlisted in Company A, Fifty-ninth Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry, which command was assigned to the Department of the West, under Generals Pope, Sherman and Grant. They took part in the siege of Vicksburg, including the several severe engagements in that immediate vicinity and at Jackson, Mississippi. The regiment then went back to Black River and at Champion's Hill the regiment took part in a bloody charge that cut the enemy's forces in two. Mr. O'Daniel was present at the capture of Vicksburg and saw Generals Grant and Pemberton together under the historic tree arranging the terms of surrender. The command was then sent to Tennessee and took part in the battles of Shiloh and Missionary Ridge and others, followed which was the hard campaign down to Atlanta, many battles and skirmishes being engaged in on the way. After General McPherson's lamentable death the company to which the subject belonged was assigned as a body guard to accompany the remains to the rear. The subject then participated in Sherman's celebrated march to the sea, assisted in the capture of Columbia, South Carolina, from which point he proceeded with the regiment to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he received an honorable discharge, having served six months after the expiration of his period of enlistment. He passed through many severe experiences and hardships and proved a valiant and courageous soldier. At Vicksburg a shell burst so near his head that the concussion destroyed an ear drum, injuring his hearing.
In 1882 Mr. O'Daniel was seriously injured in an explosion of dynamite, suffering the loss of his right hand and wrist. Since 1880 he has been engaged in the real estate, insurance, patent and pension business at Cloverdale, in which he has met with a gratifying degree of success. In 1909 he received from the Home Insurance Company a beautiful medal, in testimony of the fact that he had been connected with the company for twenty-five years. He is a man of good business qualifications and sound judgment and is numbered among the leading men of his community.
Politically Mr. O'Daniel is a staunch Republican, though not an office seeker. Under the old statutes, when one man could hold several offices at the same time, he served as clerk, treasurer and assessor of Cloverdale, but aside from this he has never been connected with public official life. Fraternally he is a member of Gen. Frank White Post No., 422, Grand Army of the Republic, at Cloverdale. Religiously he and his wife and their son are members of the Methodist Episcopal church at Cloverdale and take in active interest in its work.
Mr. O'Daniel has been married three times. In 1870 he married Sarah Matilda Brown, daughter of Thompson Brown, and to them was born a daughter, Eva M., who now lives with her maternal grandfather. Mrs. Sarah O'Daniel died on September 18, 1883, and subsequently Mr. O'Daniel married Minnie E. Horn, daughter of Thomas and Eliza (Douglas) Horn. A son, born to this union died in infancy. The wife and mother died on May 10, 1899, and on June 3, 1890 Mr. O'Daniel married Lucy Branham, daughter of William G. and Sarah E. ( Hughes) Branham. William Branham was a lifelong school teacher and was the first superintendent of schools of Putnam county, later following farming. To the last marriage of the subject has been born a son, William Wesley.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
HENRY CLAY DARNALL
A fine type of pioneer farmer, whose life covers practical1y the history of Putnam county with which he has been identified in a most honorable way, is the subject of this sketch. In the twilight of his existence, retired from the active struggles and hard work with which he was long so familiar, he is able to look back complacently to his boyhood days and contrast them with the circumstances surrounding the youth of the present generation. He is justified in taking pardonable pride in reflecting on the part he took in making modern Indiana possible and it is but a just compensation that he has lived to enjoy the comforts and luxuries that have come to the class to which he belongs. Where formerly he trudged through mire and miserable mud roads, he is now able to travel at swift speed over fine pikes ramifying in all directions. Instead of going miles for his mail, he finds it at his door every morning, delivered free of charge. Messages to friends, formerly delivered by slow going letters or uncertain messengers, may now be communicated by word of mouth to any part of the county by that marvelous product of electricity, the telephone. It is pleasing to see one of the old pioneers surviving in good health to get the benefit of the marvels in which he bore his full part. His family originated in Kentucky, both his father and mother being natives of Mt. Sterling, in that state. Turpin Darnall was born August 8, 1799, and Louisa Yeates, whom he married, was born May 7, 1807. They came to Putnam county in 1831 and entered a section of land in Clinton township, worth then a dollar or two, but now commanding from one hundred and twenty-five dollars to one hundred and fifty dollars an acre. This difference in value of itself marks as no words could do the progress of Putnam county during the last eighty years. Mr. Darnall was a Whig, then a Republican, but the only office he ever held was that of captain of militia while living in Kentucky. This fine pioneer pair had seven children, William, Nancy, Sarah, Livonia, James F., Henry Clay and Mary. The father died in August, 1881, and the mother on March 28. 1888.
Henry Clay Darnall, the only surviving member of his father's family, was born in Putnam county, Indiana, October 12, 1832. He is able to tell all about the old log school house, as it was the only seminary of learning into which he entered. He has pleasing recollections of the greased-paper windows, the hard slab benches and the puncheon floor, to say nothing of the rosy cheeked girls, then full of laughter and freedom from care, but now, alas, all passed away. Mr. Darnall remained with his father on the farm until he was twenty-one years old and many was the hard lick he struck with an ax or mattock in getting things in shape to raise crops. The training was good for him, however, and he got the benefits afterward in life, from the practical knowledge obtained and the good health, of which the foundations were laid by his outdoor life on the farm in his youth and early manhood. He looks back with pride to the fact that he cast his first vote for the young Republican party when John C. Fremont was the candidate in the fifties. Mr. Darnall has always been enthusiastic in Masonry and has been a member of that noble order for fifty-four years. He belongs to Lodge No. 75, Free and Accepted Masons, at Bainbridge and has held numerous offices connected with the fraternity. He is of religious temperament and a member of the Methodist church at Bainbridge.
On September 11, 1860, Mr. Darnall married Elizabeth L. Bridges, born July 12, 1840, and a daughter of Charles Boles and Rachel (Lockridge) Bridges, both early pioneers of Putnam county. Mr. and Mrs. Darnall have six children: Flora E., born December 9, 1861, married O. M. Batman; Charles T., born February 4, 1864, married Mamie Fry, and resides at Indianapolis; Lena R. born January 6, 1866, is the widow of William R. Todd, who died September 29, 1906; Franklin DeWitt, born November 24, 1869, married Prudie Allen, and is in the general merchant tailoring business at Butte, Montana; Kellie P., born April 22, 1876, is the wife of Charles Young, who is engaged in the handle factory business at Poplar Bluff, Missouri; William C., born August 15, 1878, married Cecil Frank and is railroading at Kansas City, Missouri.
Mr. Darnall is a well preserved man, of good health and still enjoying life to the full. At one time he owned three hundred forty acres of land, but has disposed of most of this and now retains only a fine farm of seventy acres. Though practically retired, he still keeps an eye on farming matters and insists that everything shall be run in shipshape. He is one of the type that make a good model for the imitation of the rising generation, who may learn from him the value of sobriety, industry and the painstaking care for details without which there can be no permanent success in business.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
THE RISSLER FAMILY.
This prominent old family has been so closely identified with the settlement and development of certain parts of Putnam county that the history of one is pretty much the history of both. The Risslers are of German origin and were first represented in the United States by an immigrant from the Fatherland who settled many years ago among the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia, where he established a home and reared a family of five sons and two daughters, all but two of whom lived and died among the rugged scenes of their native state.
William Rissler, the son who left the Virginia homestead and came to Indiana, was born October 12, 1797, and when a young man married Susan Boone, a sister of the noted hunter and pioneer, Daniel Boone, who figured so prominently in the early annals of Kentucky and elsewhere on the frontier. A sister of William Rissler became the wife of Squire Boone, Daniel's brother, who took an active part in the history of southern Indiana and Kentucky and later went to Iowa, locating on the present site of Boonesboro where his son, Tyler Boone, and a daughter, Myrtle, still reside.
William Rissler came to Putnam county in 1825 and purchased from the government the tract of land in Washington township now owned by his grandson, George Rissler, riding to Vincennes to make the entry and receiving a patent bearing the signature of John Quincy Adams, President of the United States. Later, in 1831, he entered land adjoining his original purchase and in 1838 he purchased a third tract in the same locality, the patent for which was signed by President Van Buren. William Rissler was a miller by trade and shortly after settling in Putnam county he erected a mill on Walnut creek, near what is known as the Huffman Bridge, and it was greatly prized by the community, he operating this mill for a number of years with gratifying success. In due time he cleared and improved a good farm and became one of the leading men of the township in which he lived, having always taken an active part in the development of the country and used his influence for the social and moral advancement of his neighborhood. In his old age he turned his business over to his son Moses and spent the last few years of his life at the home of his daughter, dying in the month of February, 1881; his wife, who was born October 24, 1802, departed this life in October, 1883.
The following are the names of the children of William and Susan Rissler: Hiram, who died in 1875; Phoebe Ann, wife of Robert Rollins, both deceased; George, who lives in Wayne county, Iowa, aged eighty years; Harriet, widow of the late Joseph Rissler, lives in Washington township, having reached the age of seventy-eight; Lewis, lives in Brown county, Iowa; John T., a resident of Washington township, Putnam county, and Moses, whose birth occurred at the family homestead March 11, 1839. During thee father's last illness Moses, the youngest son of the family, looked after his father's comfort and interests and after his death took charge of the farm, which he managed so efficiently that within a comparatively brief period all indebtedness against the estate was settled and its affairs satisfactorily adjusted. Subsequently he paid off the heirs and in due time became owner of the farm which, as already indicated, is now in possession of his son, George Rissler, one of the leading agriculturists of the township.
Moses B. Rissler was reared on the above farm, received his educational training in the public schools and on attaining his majority began tilling the soil upon his own responsibility, which honorable calling he followed with success and profit the remainder of his days. Louisa Pallom, whom he married in his young manhood, was born July 24, 1845, in Ohio and at the age of two years was brought to Indiana by her parents, Joseph and Lydia (Frie) Pallom, and grew to maturity in Clay county.
About the year 1884 Mr. Rissler moved to the farm in Washington township where his son Morton now lives, having previously purchased other lands in the county, including what is known as the Rollings farm, also a tract of one hundred sixty acres of bottom land, to which he afterwards moved and on which he continued to live and prosper until his death, in the month of July, 1905. His widow, who still makes her home in Washington township, is an estimable and popular lady whose high character and beautiful life have won the lasting friendship of those among whom her lot has been cast.
Moses B. and Louisa Rissler had four children, George, the oldest, who is living on the family homestead, Morton L., Emma, who married E. P. Aker, of Washington township, and Rosa, the wife of Clarence Wright, who resides near Big Walnut church.
Morton L. Rissler was born September 15, 1866, and spent his early life amid the healthful influence and excellent discipline of the country and while still a mere lad became familiar with the rugged duties of the farm. He remained at home until his twenty-fourth year, at which time he chose a companion and helpmeet in the person of Maggie Huffman, with whom he was united in the bonds of wedlock on the 13th day of October, 1889. Mrs. Rissler was born in Putnam county, Indiana, March 20, 1870, being a daughter of Edmund and Louisa Ann Huffinan, notice of whom may be found by reference to the sketch of Douglas Huffman on another page of this work. Securing seventy-five acres of the old homestead at their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Rissler in 1906 returned to the same and have made their home there since. Previous to that date, however, Mr. Rissler purchased other real estate in various parts of the county and at the death of his wife's father he came into possession of another fine farm of three hundred thirty-three acres, which he manages in connection with the place where he lives.
Mr. Rissler is energetic and progressive in the most .liberal acceptance of the terms and as a farmer and stock raiser ranks among the most successful men of his calling in the county. He has owned several farms at different times, but is now mainly concerned with the two above mentioned, which are about one mile apart and situated in one of the finest agricultural districts in this part of the state. He has made many valuable improvements on his land in the way of buildings, etc., and cultivates the soil according to the most approved modern methods, devoting special attention, however, to livestock, principally cattle and hogs, which he breeds and sells in large numbers every year. The Rissler farm is pronounced one of the finest and most productive in Putnam county, its every feature indicating the presence of a broad-minded American agriculturist, who believes in the dignity of his vocation. Neither money nor labor has been spared in making the place beautiful and attractive, and in all the essentials of a desirable modern home there is little to be added.
Mr. Rissler is a Republican in politics and manifests an active interest in the leading questions and issues of the time. In religious views he holds to the Baptist creed and with his wife belongs to the Big Walnut church, of which his parents were also communicants, the present building having been erected by his father.
Mr. and Mrs. Rissler have four living children, viz: Delpha Hazel, Clyde Hansel, Harlan Moses and Otis Herschel, Gladys Marie dying when two years old and another dying in infancy. The children are bright and intelligent and nothing is being spared in providing for their educational training to the end that they may grow up to be an honor to their parents and a blessing to the world.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
A. J. OWEN
While success cannot be achieved without unflagging industry, the futility of effort is often noticeable in the business world and results from the fact that it is not combined with sound judgment. Many a man who gives his entire life to toll, earnest and unremitting, never acquires a competence, but when his labor is well directed, prosperity always follows. Mr. Owen is one whose work has been supplemented by careful management and today he is numbered among the successful agriculturists of the township in which he lives.
A. J. Owen is the son of George Owen, who was born in Clark county, Indiana, on November 21, 1820, and the latter was the son of Levi Owen, who was born February 7, 1795. George Owen came to Putnam county in 1836, and lived here continuously until his death, which occurred on the 7th of 0ctober, 1903. After coming to Putnam county he was married to Margaret Stobaugh, a member of a prominent old pioneer family of Virginia who spent their first winter in Indiana at Indianapolis. They became the parents of four children, namely: Levi, A. J., John F., and Anna Eliza, who died in infancy. The subject's grandmother, Sarah Shaker Owen, was born on January 2, 1803, in Clark county, Indiana, in a fort, being the first white child born in the territory. The Shaker family was of German origin. Sarah Shaker was married to Mr. Owen in 1819 and their marriage was blessed with ten children, namely: George, Rachael, Mordecai, Sarah, Levi, Elizabeth, Hugh, Mary, Indiana, Evan, all of whom grew to mature years. Levi, while on a trip with his father, was bitten by a dog, from the effects of which he died after his return home. Evan left home at the age of sixteen years, about the opening of the Civil war, and has not been heard from since. The members of this family are now all deceased excepting Mordecai, who resides at Lebanon, Boone county, Indiana, being now eighty-five years old.
The subject of this sketch was born April 16, 1856, and was reared under the parental roof. He secured his preliminary education in the public schools, supplementing this by attendance at a normal school at Ladoga, thus acquiring a sound, practical education. Since reaching manhood Mr. Owen has given his attention mainly to agriculture. He also served as secretary of the Farmers' Co-operative Insurance Company. It is as a husbandman, however, that Mr. Owen has achieved his greatest success and among the farmers of Floyd township he occupies a conspicuous position. His farm is wel1 improved and has been maintained at a high standard of productivity, the property being also well improved in every respect. Mr. Owen is progressive in his methods, keeping in touch with the most advanced ideas relating to the science of agriculture, consequently he is able to realize handsome returns for the labor bestowed.
A stanch Democrat in his political views, Mr. Owen has at all times given his party earnest support and in 1888 he was elected trustee of Floyd township, serving five years and rendering his constituents an efficient and satisfactory administration of the office.
On the 16th of September, 1883, Mr. Owen was united in marriage to Lydia B. Wilson, a daughter of Michael and Elizabeth (Black) Wilson, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. To this union were born two children, namely: Stella M., born January 28, 1884, and George M., born March 26, 1887. The mother of these children passed away on the 7th of August, 1907.
She was a woman of many splendid qualities, a faithful wife and loving mother, and her death was deeply regretted throughout the community.
Fraternally, Mr. Owen is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, and is also an active member of the Knights of Pythias, holding membership in Bainbridge Lodge, No. 323. He has held all the offices in the last-named lodge and is also a member of the grand lodge. He is a Baptist in his religious proclivities. A man of splendid personal qualities, Mr. Owens has, because of his genuine worth, long enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people of his community and is numbered among its leading and representative men.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
JESSE LEE HUBBARD.
The Hubbard family has been one of the most progressive and popular in Cloverdale township since the early history of the same and Putnam county has known no better citizen. One of the best known members of this family of the present generation is Jesse Lee Hubbard, who was born in this township January 7, 1862, the son of William and Catherine (Beard) Hubbard. William Hubbard was a native of Garrard county, Kentucky, born there October 17, 1816, and he accompanied his parents to Putnam county, Indiana, in 1831. He was the son of Wright and Lydia (Walder) Hubbard. Wright Hubbard and wife settled in the northeast part of Cloverdale township and lived there the rest of their lives.
William Hubbard grew up on a farm in Cloverdale township and on May 2,. 1837, he married Mahala Peck, who died leaving five children, two of them still surviving, Jacob P., now in the state of Washington, and Lydia, wife of Hiram Moser, of Jefferson township. After the death of his first wife, William Hubbard married Catherine Beard, June 2, 1853. She was born in Ohio May 1, 1832, the daughter of Philip and Elizabeth ( Doup) Beard. Her parents were from Germany and the voyage across the Atlantic required six months, during which time two of their children died and were buried at sea. The Hubbards came to Putnam county, Indiana, and entered land from the government in section 33, Jefferson township, in 1847; they also traded for other land.
William Hubbard remained in Cloverdale township, in the east part of which he entered land, section 33. Five children were born to his last union, three of whom are now living, namely: Hester A. Moore, of Westfield, Illinois; Jesse Lee, of this review; Hannah Horn lives in the east part of Cloverdale township on the old homestead.
William Hubbard remained on his farm until in October, 1888, when he moved to Cloverdale and lived until his death, April 24, 1889, his widow surviving until in May, 1906. They were highly respected people and had hosts of friends throughout this locality.
Jesse L. Hubbard grew up on the home place in Cloverdale township and there assisted with the general work about the place until his marriage, October 2, 1888, to Rosa E. Horn, the daughter of Jesse Thomas and Nancy Elizabeth (Cox) Horn. She was born in Cloverdale township. Her father was a native of Wayne county, North Carolina. He came to this county with his parents, John and Celia (Bogue) Horn. John was the son of Thomas and Phoebe Horn, the father dying in North Carolina and his wife, Phoebe, came to Putnam county, Indiana, in an early day and located in sections 35 and 36, Cloverdale township, where they entered government land. Jesse Thomas Horn lived most of his life in Putnam county and awhile in Owen county. He is mentioned at greater length on another page of this work.
Nancy Elizabeth Cox was born in the southeast part of Jefferson township, this county, the daughter of William Morris and Hannah Pemberton (Powers) Cox. Her father was from Virginia and came here in an early day and entered land in Jefferson township. He and his wife came all the way from the Old Dominion on horseback, Mrs. Cox carrying a baby in her arms. They located in the forest, for the land here was new and had to be cleared. They erected a two-room log cabin and began life in true first-settled fashion. The country was overrun with all kinds of wild game, and once during a storm a herd of wild deer came up to their door. They entered their land near a spring, the ground being high enough to be free from standing water. After their marriage Jesse L. Hubbard and wife lived three years on the old Hubbard homestead. He already owned some land in section 28, Jefferson township, and built a house there after his marriage and moved into it. He has been very successful and has since added more land, now owning a fine farm of two hundred and eleven acres in Cloverdale township, thirty-seven acres lying in Jefferson township, all joining in one piece, nearly all under cultivation and well improved. He carries on general farming and stock raising in a manner that stamps him as being abreast of the times. In 1892 he built a four-room house and in 1908 remodeled it, adding other rooms, so that it is practically a new house, is unusually well constructed and attractive from an architectural viewpoint. It is well suited in every way for a good comfortable home, having many of the very latest conveniences, such as a furnace, etc. It cost four thousand dollars, is tastily furnished and about it is always an air of hospitality and cheerfulness.
To Mr. and Mrs. Hubbard seven children have been born, namely: Anna Gladys is a graduate of the Cloverdale high school; William Thomas is living on a farm at Hooper, Washington, in the southeast part of the state; Robert Lee is attending high school; Hester Florence; Omer Worth, Theodore Von and Royal Glenn.
Mr. Hubbard in 1909 made an extensive tour of the West, visiting the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition at Seattle, Washington. Politically he was first a Democrat, but is now an ardent Prohibitionist and aids in the cause whenever possible. He is a member of the Modern Woodmen of America and he and Mrs. Hubbard belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. They are regarded by their neighbors as being kind, good hearted and generous, and their friends are numbered by the scores.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
JOHN SAMUEL MICHAEL.
Among the citizens of Floyd township, Putnam county, Indiana, who have built up a comfortable home and surrounded themselves with a fair amount of landed and persona1 property, few have attained a higher degree of success than the subject of this review. With few opportunities except what his own efforts were capable of mastering and with some obstacles to overcome, he has made a success of life, and in his declining years has the gratification of knowing that the community in which he has resided has been benefited by his residence therein.
John S. Michael was born March 17, 1841, in Greencastle township, this county, and is the son of Jacob and Maria (Hulett) Michael. The former was a native of Virginia and the son of a German emigrant, he himself not being able to read the English language. He had three brothers, Benjamin, Jacob and G. H. He was a Democrat in politics and a man of stanch integrity of character, who enjoyed the respect of all who knew him. He came to Putnam county, Indiana, in 1833, being numbered among the early and active pioneers of this section of the state.
John S. Michael was reared under the parental roof and received his education in the common schools, the school which he attended being located about two and one-half miles from his home. He was reared to the life of a farmer and has devoted the greater part of his life to that occupation. He is now the owner of one hundred and eighteen acres of splendid and fertile land, on which he raises all the crops common to this section of the country, and he also gives considerable attention to the raising of livestock, giving special attention to the breeding of Aberdeen Angus cattle, in the handling of which he has been very successful. Besides farming, Mr. Michael is an expert stonemason, and has done considerable work in that line, having constructed several culverts in this county. He is accomplished in several lines of work, being in some respects a jack-of-all-trades. He has lived in his present residence for forty years and has maintained the property at a high standard of excellence, it being improved with a good residence and substantial barns and outbuildings.
On June 2, 1861, Mr. Michael was united in marriage with Mary E. Wilson, a daughter of William and Mary E. (Wilson) Wilson, and to them have been born the following children: John H., who married Elizabeth Summers; Ida is the wife of James Snowden, of Indianapolis, this state; Jacob, a son, married Mildred Wilson, but he died leaving a son and a daughter; Ammi; Sophia A. was the widow of G. Fitzimmons and later married Shelby Blades, living near Roachdale; Ora married Ida Brown and is living in Hendricks county, this state; Maude, deceased; Ernest, who lives in this county, married Norah Oliver; Orville married Erie Montgomery.
In politics Mr. Michael is a staunch Democrat and takes an intelligent interest in local public affairs. He is a man of positive convictions and takes a firm stand on the temperance question, exerting his influence in the direction of the abolition of saloons. A remarkable fact in connection with Mr. Michael's genealogical record is that his paternal grandfather had twenty-three children, of which number twenty-two were boys. The subject is a man of commendable personal qualities and enjoys the regard and confidence of all who know him, his acquaintance in the county being extensive.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
JOHN A. BAUMUNK.
This enterprising farmer and stock raiser hails from Owen county, Indiana, where he was born on the 8th day of August, 1860, being a son of Michael and Christina Baumunk, both natives of Germany. Michael Baumunk was brought to America when eight years old and grew to maturity in Pennsylvania, marrying in that state when a young man, Mrs. Christina (Haynes) Smith, who also came to this country in early life. In 1834, in company with his younger brother, Peter, he came to Indiana and located in Owen county, Peter settling at Poland, in the county of Clay. Michael bought land about one-half mile from the Putnam county line and lived on the same until his death. Peter after a few years moved to the farm south of Reelsville, where he spent the remainder of his days and which is now owned and occupied by his son, Thomas Baumunk.
The death of Michael and Peter Baumunk and a daughter of the latter, Mrs. Homer Smith, occurred the same year (1901) , under peculiar circumstances. Mrs. Smith departed this life in the month of August and was followed to the grave by her father and uncle Michael; one month later Michael was called to his reward, Peter being among the chief mourners at his funeral, and in October, ensuing, Peter breathed his last, all three being interred in the cemetery at Poland.
The family of Michael and Christina Baumunk consisted of one son, John A., of this review, and two daughters, Mary E., wife of Ivan Huffman, of Washington township, and Margaret, who married John Zenor and lives at Spencer, Owen county, near which place her husband has large farming interests. Another son died in infancy.
John A. Baumunk was reared on the home place in Owen county and remained with his father until his-twenty-second year, meantime he bore his full share of the labor of the farm and of winter months, during his minority, pursued his studies in the public schools until acquiring a pretty thorough knowledge of the branches taught. When twenty-two years old he severed home ties and began life for himself, choosing the honorable vocation of agriculture for his calling and has since followed the same with most gratifying results. The same year in which he left the parental roof, Mr. Baumunk was united in the bonds of wedlock with Eliza Jane Rightsell, daughter of John and Mary (Neece) Rightsell, and immediately thereafter set up his domestic establishment on a farm in Putnam county, where he continued to reside until trading the place for another tract of land in the same locality. Subsequently he made other exchanges and in 1901 moved to the farm in Washington township, where he now lives and which under his judicious labors and excellent management has been brought to a high state of cultivation and otherwise improved.
Mr. Baumunk is a careful and methodical farmer and seldom if ever fails to realize ample returns from the time and labor expended on his fields. By studying the character of soil and its adaptation to the different grains and vegetables, etc., also by a judicious rotation of crops, he has largely developed the productive capacity of his land and in addition to its tillage devotes considerable attention to livestock, especially the finer breeds of cattle and hogs. He also raises quite a number of mules, for which there is a wide demand and which he sells at weaning time, finding it more satisfactory and profitable to dispose of them when young than when fully grown.
In the management of his varied interests Mr. Baumunk displays business ability of a high order and it is a fact worthy of note that everything to which he gives his attention proves financially successful. From the beginning of his career to the present time he has made money and it is unnecessary to state that he is now the possessor of a comfortable competency of this world's goods. His farm, consisting of ninety acres, seventy of which is bottom land, lies in one of the richest agricultural districts of Putnam county and his splendid modern dwelling, one of the finest and most attractive homes in Washington township, crowns the summit of a beautiful knoll and commands an extensive view of the valley and surrounding country. Mr. Baumunk has furnished his home with all the latest improvements, it being in every respect up-to-date and such a dwelling as to make rural life pleasant and desirable. He believes in using the good things of this world to judicious ends, hence has not been at all sparing in providing comforts for his family and rendering the lot of those dependent upon him as agreeable as circumstance will admit.
Mrs. Baumunk bore her husband seven children and departed this life on January 7, 1907, profoundly lamented by the large circle of neighbors and friends who had learned to prize her for her many excellent qualities of head and heart. She belonged to one of the old and respected families of Putnam county and her loss was deeply mourned by all who knew her.
Of the six living children of Mr. and Mrs. Baumunk, James Albert is the oldest; he married and moved to Illinois some years ago, where he is engaged in farming, Perry Franklin, the second son, is with the Burdsal Paint Company, of Indianapolis, and stands high in the confidence of his employers. John Michael is at home assisting his father in cultivating the farm, Anna is in school, as is also Mary Effa and Louis Edward. Mr. Baumunk married on September 1, 1909, Mrs. Lucretia (Craft) Rissler, daughter of Daniel and Jane Craft. Lucretia Baumunk has a daughter, Flossie Jane, aged six years, by her marriage to John Rissler.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
GEORGE TAYLOR REEVES.
The history of the Reeves family in Putnam county is traced back to the log-cabin days and one of the best known members is George Taylor Reeves, who has lived to see Monroe township pass through all the states of development to one of the prosperous sections of the Hoosier state. His birth occurred on February 28, 1847, the son of Stacey Lawrence and Nancy (Howlett) Reeves, the father born in Campbell county, Kentucky, September 20, 1830, and the mother was born on February 22, 1822. They came to Putnam county, Indiana, in its early days and married here in 1835. Mr. Reeves buying land from Mr. Johnson. George W. Howlett was among the first settlers and by the assistance of Indians he erected his first house. A pet bear followed Mr. Howlett and his family from their Kentucky home. Nancy Howlett was then only eighteen months old and the Indians often visited their hut and played with her, giving her little trinkets of their own making. Stacey L. Reeves devoted his life to farming, however, when a boy he worked for a time at the boot and shoe business in Greencastle, and he successfully maintained a shoe shop on his farm many years.
The following children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Stacey L. Reeves: Sarah E. died when twenty years of age in 1861; Emmerine is deceased; James L. is deceased; George Taylor, of this review; Allen Wiley was born May 12, 1849; Mary C. was born March 12, 1851; Charles F., born November 17, 1853, was city marshal of Greencastle at one time; Annie E., born November 3, 1855, married C. Y. Johnson and is living in Crawfordsville.
Stacey L. Reeves was a Republican in politics, but held no offices, but he took great interest in the affairs of the Methodist church, of which he was a regular attendant. He was well known in this county, and his death occurred on December 26, 1888, his ashes resting in the old Brick Chapel burying ground.
George T. Reeves attended the schools taught in the old log school houses in Monroe township. He lived with his father for thirty years and assisted in farming and has made this his life work, now owning a neat little farm of forty-five acres, which, together with his stock raising, makes him a very comfortable living.
Mr. Reeves was married on December 7, 1879, to Martha Ellen Shinn, daughter of Willoughby and Elizabeth Frances (Wilson) Shinn, the father born in Mercer county, Missouri, from which place he came to Putnam county, Indiana, being then twelve years of age, having been born on February 22, 1839. Grandfather Shinn came here in the spring of the year, contracting the cholera soon afterwards which caused his death. But the family found kind friends among their neighbors and were greatly assisted in getting established. The trip from Missouri was made in the usual mode of pioneer traveling, in ox carts. George T. Reeves still lives on the old Grandfather Shinn farm.
To Mr. and Mrs. George T. Reeves one child, a daughter, has been born, Edith May, whose birth occurred June 24, 1884, and she married Elmer McCamey, living at Advance, Boone county, this state, and they are the parents of three children, Effie, Oscar Lee and Hazel. Mr. McCamey is engaged in the livery business sixteen miles east of Crawfordsville.
Mr. Reeves is a worker in the Methodist church, being regarded as one of the pillars of the local congregation, and having been a delegate to the conference of his church six times and serving on the stationing committee. Politically he is a Republican.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
JOHN WILSON
It will be found upon examination that the person who lives the quietest and most uneventful life - one that is free, on the one hand, from too great degree of toil, and free, on the other, from nervous excitement, such as falls to the lot of the dwellers of the cities, will live the longest span on earth and will to the greatest degree enjoy his declining years. It seems that all persons are given at the outset of their lives only about so much vitality, and if they squander it before they reach maturity, or if they squander it too fast at any stage of their careers, it means a premature death. Like a candle, they burn out too fast and are left nothing but a wick, black and unsight1y. But the quiet and steady life is what counts. Such a person has great reserves of vital force which he can call into action at any emergency and is thus enabled to make a better showing in a crisis than the person who is ready to fall at the least excitement. John Wilson, a highly honored and successful resident of Floyd township, is one who has had the wisdom to save his best powers for suitable occasions, and, as a result of his sober, exemplary life, he has not only conserved his energies, rendering him hale and hearty in his old age, but he has won the confidence and friendship of all who have formed his acquaintance.
Mr. Wilson was born January 23, 1838, the son of Abe1 and Julia A. (Holsapple) Wilson, natives of Kentucky, the former of English and the latter of German ancestry. This old pioneer family came to Putnam county, Indiana, in 1834 and developed a good farm. Abe1 Wilson reaching an advanced age, dying here on January 31, 1892, followed to the unseen world a few days later, February 2, 1892, by his wife. They were a fine old couple whom everybody delighted to honor.
John Wilson was educated in the old log school houses of his day with their greased paper windows and slab seats. He was reared on a farm and continued that line of endeavor, having prospered by reason of close application to his work and good management and he is now the owner of one of the choice farms of Floyd township, comprising two hundred and seventeen acres, which has been placed under modern improvements and is yielding large returns on the labor expended upon it. He has a good home and is very comfortably fixed in every respect.
John Wilson was married on February 1, 1860, to Isabella Lewis, daughter of John Lewis, which union resulted in the birth of three children, named as follows: Delana C., born July 23, 1865; Charles A., born October 1, 1867; and Gilbert A., born August 19, 1872.
The mother of these children died on July 12, 1895, and Mr. Wilson married again, on November 5, 1896, his last wife being Mrs. Ellen Allen, widow of Frank Allen, by whom she had one son.
Mr. Wilson is a Democrat in politics and he held very acceptably the office of county commissioner from 1886 to 1889.
Delana C. Wilson, mentioned above, received a good common school education and he later attended higher schools and fitted himself for a teacher, and for two years he taught very successfully in Floyd township, but he left the school room for the more ren1ui1erative and less exacting life of the agriculturist and he has been well paid for the labor he has expended in this line. He is making his home with his father and has a good farm of his own near Bainbridge.
Charles A. Wilson, also mentioned before, received a good common school education, graduating from the State Normal at Terre Haute, also at Franklin College, south of Indianapolis; also passed through the McCormick Seminary of Chicago, later taking a course in an oratorical school, thus becoming unusually well equipped for his life labors - that of the ministry at which he has been very successful, now being pastor of the Bethany Presbyterian church of Chicago.
Gilbert A. Wilson, the other son, is a well-known school teacher in Jackson township.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN
DAVID WALLACE
A successful farmer of Mill Creek township is David Wallace, who was born in Morgan county, Indiana, December 5, 1839, the son of Elijah and Elizabeth (Manley) Wallace, the former the son of David and Elizabeth (Atkins) Wallace. Elijah Wallace was born in Tennessee and it is believed his parents were of Scotch-Irish descent. The parents of David Wallace came from Tennessee to Indiana and settled near the convergence of Putnam, Morgan and Hendricks counties, and there followed farming and stock raising.
David Wallace was one of a fami1y of eleven children, namely: Amanda, wife of Leonard Shaw, deceased; John, of Mill Creek township; James lives in Morgan county; David, of this review; Elizabeth is the widow of James Hill (deceased) and lives in Morgan county; Louisa Ann is the wife of Thomas Sandy, living in Cloverdale; Nancy is the wife of Samuel McCollum; William is deceased; Surelda, deceased; Mary Ellen is the wife of Richard Brown, of Morgan county; Adeline died when three years of age.
David Wallace's father lived in Hendricks county on a farm consisting of six hundred acres, he also owned a large body of land in Mill Creek township, Putnam county, part of it lying in Morgan county. He was a Democrat, always active, but never held office. His death occurred July 12, 1884. David Wallace's mother died May 11, 1890.
David Wallace grew to maturity on the farm, which he assisted in reclaiming from the wilderness, among his duties being to assist in operating his father's old "ground-hog" threshing machine. David also threshed grain with a flail and by tramping it out. His uncle had a mill in Tennessee, and before leaving that state David's father worked at the shoemaker's trade for a time. He made the long journey to Indiana in a one-horse wagon, making his fortune after coming here. He bought land, fed hogs which he drove to Lawrenceburg, on the Ohio river, and when a boy his son, David, assisted in driving some of his hogs to Indianapolis.
David Wallace lived on the home farm until his marriage, February 3, 1865, to Rebecca E. Stringer. She is the daughter of Reuben and Mildred (Ludlow) Stringer. Her parents were from Kentucky. She was born in Hendricks county.
To Mr. and Mrs. Wallace four children were born, namely: Charlie, died when seven years old; Lidia died at the age of three; Albert and Alpha are living. The former married Shada Dale Staley, daughter of Hiram Staley. Albert is living on a farm south of his father's. He and his wife have one daughter, Lola. Alpha married Walter Allee and lives in Mill Creek township, a short distance southeast of her father; they have six children, Sona Marie, Jewel D., Thelma and Velma (twins), Flossie and Albert Ross.
David Wallace has lived forty-five years on the same farm in section 8, Mill Creek township, having moved here April 1, 1865. He was in Company K, Fifty-fifth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil war. Politically he is a Democrat and he and his wife are both members of the Friends church.
"Weiks History of Putnam County Indiana" by Jesse W. Weik. 1910
B.F. Bowen & Co., Publishers, Indianapolis IN